ThinkForward Impact Report 2024/25

ThinkForward delivers long-term coaching programmes for young people at risk of NEET across London, Nottingham and Kent. Their 2024/25 impact report — marking 10 years as an independent charity — records 1,580 young people supported, 73% in positive destinations, and £3 of social value per £1 invested, alongside the launch of a new 2025-2028 strategy to triple their reach.

Report snapshot
1,580 young people supported; 7,972 one-to-one coaching sessions delivered Key Metric 1
73% of FutureMe graduates in education, employment or training — 20 percentage points above the national figure Key Metric 2
£3 of social value created for every £1 invested; 199 Ready for Work events held Key Metric 3
13 Views

📋About

Long-term one-to-one coaching, FutureMe programme, Making Strides (learning disabilities), Future Leaders (Black and South Asian pupils), She Speaks, Ready for Work events, employer mentoring Custom geography from upload: England

📊Key Metrics

1,580 young people supported; 7,972 one-to-one coaching sessions delivered Key Metric 1
73% of FutureMe graduates in education, employment or training — 20 percentage points above the national figure Key Metric 2
£3 of social value created for every £1 invested; 199 Ready for Work events held Key Metric 3

Key Outcomes

  • Young people attending 34+ coaching sessions are 79 percentage points more likely to be EET than those attending 0-8 sessions
  • 10 years of impact: 10,000+ young people supported; 75,000+ coaching sessions delivered; £20m+ social value created
  • New 2025-2028 strategy launched with goal to triple number of young people supported and build robust coaching evidence base

📍Geography

Other

2024

Impact Report 2023/24

32,000+ children reached across core programmes; 20,315 children supported to access real working farms
Key Metric 1
41.8% of children in partner schools meet EVER6 Free School Meals criteria (national average 26.3%) — demonstrating focus on highest-disadvantage communities
Key Metric 2
95% of children felt farms were important after their visit (up 11% on prior year); 100% of teachers said programmes gave pupils new opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have accessed
Key Metric 3
Programmes target children least likely to access green space — particularly those in urban deprivation, with SEND, or facing other barriers to outdoor experience
2024

Impact Story 2020–2024

63 projects backed with £5 million in funding, unlocking £60 million+ in follow-on investment — £12 for every £1 given; 8 million+ children and young people engaged through funded projects
Key Metric 1
17 million+ people reached globally through expert articles co-created with insight network across 26 countries; 25,000+ people took part in 2,000+ Big Education Conversations across England since 2021
Key Metric 2
£1 million Big Education Challenge prize fund launched in 2022, backing 15 finalists and 6 award winners; 40 cross-sector experts publishing via global insight network; 35 countries holding Big Education Conversations
Key Metric 3
Early-stage backing of Frontline (2013) — now England's largest social work charity, training 2,400 social workers reaching 150,000+ families; Voice 21 (2014) — now working with 203,000 students in 852 schools; oracy embedded in cross-party education priorities
2024

Annual Report 2023/24

100,000+ children now reached through programmes — nearly doubling in one year the reach achieved in the previous five years combined; 16 new schools supported through School Transformation programme (6,303 pupils)
Key Metric 1
76 chefs from 126 schools graduated from School Chef Educator programme reaching 36,414 children daily; total income grew 46% to £1,654,185; most successful fundraising year to date raising £1,548,528
Key Metric 2
88%+ of school leaders reported pupils consuming more fruit and vegetables; 82%+ reported improvement in pupil behaviour; 65%+ reported improvement in pupil concentration; 100% of chefs satisfied or very satisfied with their job
Key Metric 3
Won BBC Food and Farming Derek Cooper Outstanding Achievement Award 2023; Survation polling found a third of parents can no longer afford school meals; gave evidence to House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee and Youth Select Committee